More turtle nests on Tybee

Tybee reported its ninth and tenth sea turtle nests on Friday. That's pretty good for late June. Last year the total was nine nests, the year before that it was 11. Loggerheads will continue nesting through July, so Tybee has a chance to break its record of 14 nests.

Tammy Smith, a school teacher who spends her summers as the sea turtle coordinator for Tybee, reported the ninth nest was in front of Marlin Monroe's and was moved just north of Center Street.

The tenth was right at the anchor, where it was prone to tidal washovers that can drown the developing eggs. She moved that nest to just south of 10th Street.

Turtle nesting is looking good all along the Georgia coast, especially at Cumberland Island, which has 413 nests. Mark Dodd of the DNR reported that at mid-season the pace left Georgia with just one nest fewer than last year's record breaking season.

"Based on these numbers, we are on pace to reach 2,000 loggerhead nests this year," he wrote in his mid-season report. "This is exciting considering loggerheads have averaged approx. 1,000 nests annually over the last 23 years. It will be interesting to see whether nesting drops off more quickly than normal (early July) or continues through August given the warm spring and early start to the season."